Not Educating the Masses

The Chinese government has announced plans to reform its university entrance exam known as gaokao, allowing more tries for the English portion and accounting for extracurricular activities. Critics suggest such changes could decrease the numbers of university students from poor rural areas, according to the Economist. “China’s elite universities already resemble their Western counterparts in one respect: most students are from relatively well-off backgrounds,” the article notes. In the 1970s, 50 percent of freshmen at Tsinghua University came from rural areas, compared with 17 percent in 2010. Reasons for the discrepancy include better funding for urban schools, corruption and the influence of connections, access to tutors, as well as a quota system that favors cities over rural provinces. Not mentioned is whether rural citizens who relocate to cities can enroll in school as older students. Reforms may include increased quotas for rural areas, changes to the entrance exam could offset those. – YaleGlobal